The present invention relates in general to carrying devices for patients, invalids, injured persons or others not capable of moving themselves, and in particular to a new and useful, one-piece, flexible sling for moving the persons from one location to another.
The present invention is the subject of Disclosure Document Number 331631 filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 25, 1993.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,677 discloses an invalid carrying sling having fabric portions, a belt structure for engagement around the waste of a patient, and rigid carrying rods attached to the flexible portions for carrying an invalid.
A sling made entirely of flexible materials is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,327. The sling comprises a broad rectangular area having handles at all four corners for use in lifting a patient. A lifting vest is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,010 which is in the form of a garment that has areas which can be grasped by persons other than the wearer, to lift the person. Lifting sheets for transferring patients are also known. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,148,558 and 5,155,874.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,057 discloses a flexible sling structure having a plurality of handles and formable into a concave structure for engagement around the bottom of a person to be moved and manipulatable by one aid to lift the person to be moved.
Despite the foregoing advancements in this field, a need remains for a simple, flexible, inexpensive sling for transporting invalids, patients, injured persons or others needing assistance, which is simple and intuitive to use, easily stored in a very small volume when not in use, and readily available to all who may need such a sling in a hospital environment, nursing home, emergency vehicle, home use or even for field use in a back-pack, or for storage in an automobile.